Can a frame be too small?

rtorbs

Just about to pre order a Blue pig from CRC but can decide on the 16" or possibly 14"

I'm 5' 9" with a 30" inside leg....previously had a 16" mmmbop that didnt feel bad.....measurements are almost identical with exception of 1/2" shorter top tube and .5 degree seat angle diff (i think from memory?) but will that half an inch be ride changing ?

I never felt like i had massive standover clarence on the 16 and am thinking that the 14" might be more chuckable but most measurement calculators say i should be looking at a 17".....

And typically i cant get one in to check as LBS doesnt stock that small

cooldad

To answer your original question - yes.

Raymondavalon

Read this Post for some insight on sizing
Some people get along with small frames

rtorbs

Raymondavalon wrote:

Read this Post for some insight on sizing
Some people get along with small frames

thanks but im still kinda stuck....

My mates got a 13.5" kona stuff that ive slung my leg over and tbh it doesnt feel small, but again two totallly different frames so hardly a comparison

welshkev

answer your original question - yes

but it all depends what you use the bike for aswell, i'm 5ft9 and would consider a 16" too small unless it was DH bike for me. i ride a 17.5 inch am bike a 19 inch hardtail

rtorbs

welshkev wrote:

answer your original question - yes

but it all depends what you use the bike for aswell, i'm 5ft9 and would consider a 16" too small unless it was DH bike for me. i ride a 17.5 inch am bike a 19 inch hardtail

TBH it would be a bit of everything so probably might be better sticking with the 16" as its what i know....im just concious of the fact that its gonna weigh significantly more than the mmmbop and wasnt sure if it would hamper my ability to throw it about ?!

Northwind

Absolutely, though there's no set sizing that's right for everyone. Frinstance I'm 5 10 and had a small Mmmbop on their recommendation, and it would have needed something like a 420mm seatpost to get a good seat height for me and felt cramped. Traded it for a medium, absolutely perfect.

rtorbs

16" it is then me thinks.....

Anyone got any insider info on if the stock is going to be in on 30th as advertised on both CRC and Hotlines ?......I notice the 'buy' button has reappered which im taking as a positve sign....

A month without a bike is driving me spare lol

.blitz

There are few things in MTBing that are so variable as The Right Size.

A mate is about the same size as you and he has a very average 16" Trek. He mostly stays seated and rides blue trails and red ones with the brakes on.

Yours truly is 6'2" and has a 16" GT Chucker, size L Ramones and a size L Rize. The GT is small and err...chuckable but it has a decent length top tube and if I wanted to ride trails on it I could. The Rize is a slack FS and is a big old gate to throw around but it is all-day comfortable; the Ramones is somewhere in between which is why I bought it.

The point I am trying to make is that there is no particular size bike that will be right for you. It all depends on what kind of riding you do and what kind of bike it is.

Having said that you will be fine with a 16" Blue Pig

Anonymous

Ignore calculators, guides, and anything at all written about standover in a regular road bike book/guide/website.

Try it and see what works. Just bear in mind typical advice for a comfortable fit, arm and wrist positions as sitting on them in a shop isn't going to tell you if you'll get arm pains when riding for a while. Better still, demo.

Standover. Personally I don't pay too much attention. These rules are based on the ability to easily and safely dismount on the road. On a mountain bike things are different. Not to mention the headtubes are often weird angles if not shapes.

ilovedirt

Yeah, definitely depends what bike it is, what you want to use it for. A bike can definitely be too small, especially if you're using it for XC. You don't want the cockpit to be too short and give you back pains etc. Equally you don't want the bike to be too large and be a pain to manoeuvre. I'm 6ft2ish and have a 20" on one 456 which i use for general trail/XC duties, and an 18" orange patriot (a large, by orange's standards) for downhill/freeride, don't want anything too big for that as it would be a pain on steeper stuff etc. I've also ridden much smaller downhill bikes in relative comfort because they were fairly long, I would say top tube length is probably more important than seat tube length for that reason.

felix.london

agree with ilovedirt -

I generally ignore the 'size' as my seat goes up and down like a yo-yo anyway - so it's kinda pointless

I just look at the ETT length as this is more important for overall comfort and I feel the nutz-to-stem-length is vital for those 'nearly over the handle bar moments' - have bruised the top of my inner thigh pretty badly very close to said sack by riding a bike with a too short top tube length

ilovedirt

felix.london wrote:

agree with ilovedirt -

I generally ignore the 'size' as my seat goes up and down like a yo-yo anyway - so it's kinda pointless

I just look at the ETT length as this is more important for overall comfort and I feel the nutz-to-stem-length is vital for those 'nearly over the handle bar moments' - have bruised the top of my inner thigh pretty badly very close to said sack by riding a bike with a too short top tube length

Same here, it's a pain.

junglist_matty

:?: Is the OP for real!?

:idea: I was thinking of buying this for a bargain price of £50; includes lunchbox, enclosed chain guide and even anti-faller-offers....



That was until I realised it was too small!




....I didn't think it was possible for someone to ask something that stupid :roll:

felix.london

HebdenBiker

I am 5ft 9 and ride a 15.5in frame with long seatpost, long stem, and bar ends. It is perfect for moorland trails and climbs brilliantly, but it shows its limitations on technical descents (red & black runs at trail centres), where I really need for this is something with a higher front end and shorter stem. In other words, a bigger frame.

So I guess it depends on what type of riding you want to do.

tom_howard

I'm 6'1", my hardtail, that I use for everything my dh bike wont do (nearly everything...) is a 14". Thought I do use a 400mm seatpost